[Tom C]

I just signed up with Cingular, got a Siemens S56 and have run into some problems. If I can't solve these problems, I'm thinking about getting a Sony Ericsson T616 instead (or switching to T-Mobile and getting the T610), assuming that the T610/T616 doesn't have the same problems.

1. I have successfully synced my Mac Address Book and the S56 using iSync. However, contacts which I've marked as companies in the Mac Address Book do not appear properly on the S56. Their name appears as .,. (i.e., no first or last name). The phone does support a company field, and the field was synced, but as far as I can determine, the phone will only list the names and allow searching by first and last name, not company. Is there any way to get the phone to list contacts by company instead of first/last name, and if so, is there any way to get iSync to tell the phone which contacts are companies? Does the T616 have the same problems?

2. The only telephone numbers that iSync synced are those that have the default labels (e.g. home, work, home fax, mobile). Because I use quite a few custom labels, this is a problem. Is iSync the cause of the problem or the S56? Is there any way to get custom-labeled numbers to sync? Does the T616 have problems with non-standard labels?

3. I'm confused about using the phone as a Bluetooth modem. Do I need to subscribe to a data service through Cingular, or can I simply dial up my ISP's dial up number using the Bluetooth modem? If so, what needs to be set on the S56?

4. Does the S56 have any sort of keyguard feature so that you don't accidentally press buttons while it's in your pocket? I can't find any such feature. What about the T616?

5. The reason that I bought the S56 instead of the T616 was because the T616 has a built-in camera. I'm a lawyer, I need to carry my phone to court, and the local courts won't allow camera phones inside. Therefore, the S56 was the better choice. If I decide to swtich to the T616, is there any way to remove the camera lens?

[typoon]

To answer some of your questions, I have an S56 also.

1. I think it is a bit of both. I know that the s56 isn't really great for syncing with customer numbers. I've had issues with it. Not sure why. I think it might be the s56.

2. Never used the BT modem. Couldn't get it setup. If someone knows how to set this phone up I'd be willing to try it for you. I have the Data Service with Cingular but I don't think you need it.

3. This one I can help you with. the key guard feature I have mine setup to just activate after a minute of idle time. You can activate it but holding down the # key.

4. I don't think there is a way to remove the camera lense from the T616.

[cpac]

I too have an S56, and have considered switching to a T610/616 for similar reasons.

(1) - i've not found a way to get companies to sync properly with the S56, and this is a real pain. If you ever find a solution, let me know - the problem, though, is with the S56 not allowing things to be listed by company name, etc.

(2) - I believe that again, the problem is with the S56 not supporting custom fields (I think iSync looks at the phone, figures out which fields are available, and then guesses which Address Book data matches the phone's fields. In your case, the abundance of custom fields likely makes iSync unable to figure out which ought to correspond to which field on the S56)

(3) - Sorry, don't know much about the blue tooth modem set up. I'd look in Apple's help/support

(4) typhoon covered it. The automatic key lock is very handy too (Menu->Setup->Keys->Auto Key Lock)

(5) I don't think there's a way to remove the camera lens from the T616/610 - it's built right into the back of the phone. You could try getting a case for the phone that covers the lens (so the marshals/whoever wont notice it), or you could also look for a T68 - from what I've read it has about the same features, minus the camera, and since it's a couple years older, you can probably get one really cheap.

----

Finally I'd like to suggest also that you post over the in HowardForums (cell phone forums) - people there may have figured out a way to fix any number of these problems.

[Rickster]

Some good resources for getting your phone set up as a Bluetooth modem:
http://homepage.mac.com/jrc/contrib/tzones/
http://www.taniwha.org.uk/

HTH,

[mspalacios]

Have you tried grabbing the addressbook entries into the desktop and then using bluetooth or IR file transfer to the phone? This works OK for my setup which is an Ericsson T39m. I've also done it with my Palm Tungsten T into my T39m... the addressbook export the entries as VCF files (known as business cards on the phones) so as long as you get them into the phone you might get better results on the data field mappings.

It's not really synching, but it's an alternative.

Miguel

[ratlater]

Originally posted by Tom C:
I just signed up with Cingular, got a Siemens S56 and have run into some problems. If I can't solve these problems, I'm thinking about getting a Sony Ericsson T616 instead (or switching to T-Mobile and getting the T610), assuming that the T610/T616 doesn't have the same problems.

1. I have successfully synced my Mac Address Book and the S56 using iSync. However, contacts which I've marked as companies in the Mac Address Book do not appear properly on the S56. Their name appears as .,. (i.e., no first or last name). The phone does support a company field, and the field was synced, but as far as I can determine, the phone will only list the names and allow searching by first and last name, not company. Is there any way to get the phone to list contacts by company instead of first/last name, and if so, is there any way to get iSync to tell the phone which contacts are companies? Does the T616 have the same problems?

2. The only telephone numbers that iSync synced are those that have the default labels (e.g. home, work, home fax, mobile). Because I use quite a few custom labels, this is a problem. Is iSync the cause of the problem or the S56? Is there any way to get custom-labeled numbers to sync? Does the T616 have problems with non-standard labels?

3. I'm confused about using the phone as a Bluetooth modem. Do I need to subscribe to a data service through Cingular, or can I simply dial up my ISP's dial up number using the Bluetooth modem? If so, what needs to be set on the S56?

4. Does the S56 have any sort of keyguard feature so that you don't accidentally press buttons while it's in your pocket? I can't find any such feature. What about the T616?

5. The reason that I bought the S56 instead of the T616 was because the T616 has a built-in camera. I'm a lawyer, I need to carry my phone to court, and the local courts won't allow camera phones inside. Therefore, the S56 was the better choice. If I decide to swtich to the T616, is there any way to remove the camera lens?

I have a T616 and I'm afraid I have the same problem with companies. The name does show up at least, but there is a '..' in front of them. With number 2 I'm not sure. I think it will still sync the number, but it will change the label. Also the T616 only supports 3 different number for a contact. I'll make sure about number 2 for you in the morning.

-matt

[JKT]

Originally posted by cpac:
I too have an S56, and have considered switching to a T610/616 for similar reasons.<snip>

(1) SE T68i also has the same issue (.,.) for companies synched to it from Address Book. I get around it by populating both the company and name fields with the company name in Address Book. I doubt if the T610 (which is the follow-up model to the T68i) is any better in this respect.

(4) SE phones have a keylock that can either be set to activate after a brief period of inactivity or manually or both.

(5) T68i - there is a design flaw in the phone that essentially prevents you from using it in silent mode. The internal aerial will eventually break due to the vibrations... I know, it has happened to me twice now.

[cpac]

Originally posted by ratlater:
I have a T616 and I'm afraid I have the same problem with companies. The name does show up at least, but there is a '..' in front of them. With number 2 I'm not sure. I think it will still sync the number, but it will change the label. Also the T616 only supports 3 different number for a contact. I'll make sure about number 2 for you in the morning.

-matt

D'oh.

I guess we must rely on Apple to come up with some brilliant fix.

Question: are there any phones out there (aside from Treos) that support vCards? Why not?

[Tom C]

Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I think that I'm going to try to the T616, or just get a cheap phone and wait another year for Bluetooth. If I can't get the Siemens to sync right, I don't see any point in keeping it, especially given that I don't like the keypad.

[Spheric Harlot]

Originally posted by Tom C:
Thanks to everyone for the feedback. I think that I'm going to try to the T616, or just get a cheap phone and wait another year for Bluetooth. If I can't get the Siemens to sync right, I don't see any point in keeping it, especially given that I don't like the keypad.

FWIW, I love my S55 (identical Euro version), and I have no problems going online with it on the road.

I was emailing away on the Autobahn the other day.